Music to Your Ears

By Laura Marrich

Heavy Metal, Seven Feet Tall and Luminous

Oh, man. As part of the Alibi's Midnight Movie Madness, the Guild Cinema will screen a print of Heavy Metal this weekend. The 1981 movie is a Trifecta of stoner delights: rotoscopic animation, porn 'n' gore-heavy content and a kick-ass soundtrack. Devo, Black Sabbath, Nazareth, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Grand Funk Railroad, Journey, Stevie Nicks and Sammy Hagar are some of the names who pitched in music for the animated fantasy flick. The original movie score was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and written by Elmer Bernstein. (He's the composer behind not only The Ten Commandments and The Magnificent Seven, but pop ephemera like the incidental music in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the opening signature of National Geographic TV specials. Elmer's the man.) Heavy Metal shows at 11 p.m. on Friday, April 25, and 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. All seats are $7. And if you miss the opportunity to see Heavy Metal on an actual movie screen, you'll regret for the rest of your life. Just sayin'.

And Screaming of Metal ...

The metallic rockers of Simfonik Plague will release their new album on Friday, April 25, at The Compound. Like its name suggests, Bootlegged is all about DIY aesthetics—right down to the spray-painted logo the CD-R's face. The recording and mixing was done at Simfonik Mike's house (otherwise known as "Skull House Studios"). Simfonik Plague gets live at 7 p.m. with Fields of Elysium, Torture Victim and Left Brain. The show is all-ages. Make friends with Simfonik Plague at their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/simfonikplague.

What's Up With the Launchpad?

Or rather, what isn't up with the Launchpad? Click here read Marisa Demarco's news piece chronicling all the exciting building codes, city permits and other pains in Joe Anderson's ass that have kept the Launchpad shuttered this long, and to find out how much longer we may be looking at before it opens. Until it does, keep an eye on launchpadrocks.com for updates on rescheduled shows at other venues.